2021 TRAVELODGE BIZARRE REQUESTS AUDIT RESULTS

Today, Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, has revealed the top 25 most interesting and bizarre requests that the company’s 582 UK hotel teams have received during the last 12 months.  With a network of hotels stretching the length and breadth of Great Britain, Travelodge welcomes millions of customers each year staying for a variety of reasons.        

Detailed below are more fascinating requests to make the 2021 audit

·     Can you sing in the next room so that I can check that I have a quiet room

·     Where does the Welsh Rarebit live? And what’s the best time to see it?

·     Is Manchester Caviar imported from Russia?

·     Is half of Leeds Bradford Airport located in Leeds and the other in Bradford?

·     What time does the snake come out on the Snake Pass?

·     Can I have a room with a south facing window as I need sunlight to charge my aura first thing in the morning?   

·     Can you arrange for 12 gondolas to take my wedding party to the venue?  

·     Can you arrange for a shooting star to pass over the beach at 10pm when I take my wife for a romantic walk at the beach?

·     Can you arrange for my wife to meet Paddington Bear when we get our train home tonight at Paddington station. She has loved Paddington since she was a child?   

·     Can you get me some blue grass turf to take back home?

·     Can you please help me find my long-lost nan who was born in Preston?

Following the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions earlier this year, Travelodge experienced a stampede of customers checking into its hotels across all corners of the UK this summer. This resulted in a high volume of hotel teams receiving interesting requests and questions – especially around place names, local dishes, customs and traditions across the regions.

One customer asked where Welsh Rarebits live, and when might be the best time to see them, while another wanted to know what time the snake comes out on Snake Pass in Derbyshire.  Another customer staying at Manchester Trafford Travelodge asked whether Manchester Caviar ‘is imported from Russia’ and a couple staying at    Liverpool Exchange Street Travelodge were keen to know where they could find a tasty Liverpool tart.  

With weddings and receptions back after an extended hiatus, a groom’s mother staying at Solihull Travelodge asked the hotel team to help make six necklaces out of £50 and £20 for her son’s wedding.  Meanwhile, a bride staying at Birmingham Moor Street Travelodge asked the reception team to arrange 12 gondolas to take their wedding party to their wedding venue.

Travelodge hotel staff also received a host of interesting room requests. This included a guest staying at York Central Travelodge asking the receptionist to come and sing in the room next door to his allocated room in order to check that he had received a ‘quiet room’.  The hotel team at Newcastle Quayside Travelodge were surprised when a customer asked for a children’s paddling pool so that their pet fish could have a spacious bed for the night.  Further down south, a guest checking into St Austell Travelodge requested a room with a large south facing window so that they could be flooded with light at dawn to recharge their aura.   

Interestingly this year’s audit also revealed a growing trend of customers asking hotel teams especially in the northern regions such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool and Cardiff to record voice messages on their phone because they love their regional accent.  Parents away from home also asked hotel teams if they could call home pretending they were Father Christmas to ensure their children did their homework.             

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “Following the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions earlier this year we have experienced a significant increase in bookings across our 582 UK Travelodge hotels. With more Britons holidaying on British shores than ever before our hotel teams have also received a high volume of interesting requests and questions especially around place names, local dishes, customs and traditions across the British regions.  Where possible, our hotel teams will go above and beyond to help customers as they relish a good challenge.

“However, there are some requests beyond their control such as arranging afternoon tea with the Pandas, getting a shooting star to appear at 10pm, getting a part on Emmerdale and getting seagulls to sing instead of squawk!”   

Listed below are the top 25 most bizarre customer requests Travelodge hotel teams have received during the last 12 months.

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